Egress of HSV-1 capsid requires the interaction of VP26 and a cellular tetraspanin membrane protein

HSV-1 viral capsid maturation and egress from the nucleus constitutes a self-controlled process of interactions between host cytoplasmic membrane proteins and viral capsid proteins. In this study, a member of the tetraspanin superfamily, CTMP-7, was shown to physically interact with HSV-1 protein VP26, and the VP26-CTMP-7 complex was detected both in vivo and in vitro. The interaction of VP26 with CTMP-7 plays an essential role in normal HSV-1 replication. Additionally, analysis of a recombinant virus HSV-1-UG showed that mutating VP26 resulted in a decreased viral replication rate and in aggregation of viral mutant capsids in the nucleus. Together, our data support the notion that biological events mediated by a VP26 - CTMP-7 interaction aid in viral capsid enveloping and egress from the cell during the HSV-1 infectious process

Neonatal rhesus monkey is a potential animal model for studying pathogenesis of EV71 infection

AbstractData from limited autopsies of human patients demonstrate that pathological changes in EV71-infected fatal cases are principally characterized by clear inflammatory lesions in different parts of the CNS; nearly identical changes were found in murine, cynomolgus and rhesus monkey studies which provide evidence of using animal models to investigate the mechanisms of EV71 pathogenesis. Our work uses neonatal rhesus monkeys to investigate a possible model of EV71 pathogenesis and concludes that this model could be applied to provide objective indicators which include clinical manifestations, virus dynamic distribution and pathological changes for observation and evaluation in interpreting the complete process of EV71 infection. This induced systemic infection and other collected indicators in neonatal monkeys could be repeated; the transmission appears to involve infecting new monkeys by contact with feces of infected animals. All data presented suggest that the neonatal rhesus monkey model could shed light on EV71 infection process and pathogenesis

Multifunctional Core-Shell Upconverting Nanoparticles for Imaging and Photodynamic Therapy of Liver Cancer Cells

通讯作者地址: Chen, XL (通讯作者),Xiamen Univ, State Key Lab Phys Chem Solid Surfaces, Xiamen 361005, Peoples R China 地址: 1. Xiamen Univ, State Key Lab Phys Chem Solid Surfaces, Xiamen 361005, Peoples R China 2. Xiamen Univ, Dept Chem, Coll Chem & Chem Engn, Xiamen 361005, Peoples R China 3. Xiamen Univ, Dept Elect Sci, Fujian Key Lab Plasma & Magnet Resonance, Xiamen 361005, Peoples R China 4. Xiamen Univ, Dept Commun Engn, Fujian Key Lab Plasma & Magnet Resonance, Xiamen 361005, Peoples R China 电子邮件地址: [email protected]; [email protected] upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have attracted considerable attention for their application in biomedicine. Here, silica-coated NaGdF4:Yb,Er/NaGdF4 nanoparticles with a tetrasubstituted carboxy aluminum phthalocyanine (AlC4Pc) photosensitizer covalently incorporated inside the silica shells were prepared and applied in the photodynamic therapy (PDT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of cancer cells. These UCNP@SiO2(AlC4Pc) nanoparticles were uniform in size, stable against photosensitizer leaching, and highly efficient in photogenerating cytotoxic singlet oxygen under near-infrared (NIR) light. In vitro studies indicated that these nanoparticles could effectively kill cancer cells upon NIR irradiation. Moreover, the nanoparticles also demonstrated good MR contrast, both in aqueous solution and inside cells. This is the first time that NaGdF4:Yb,Er/NaGdF4 upconversion-nanocrystal-based multifunctional nanomaterials have been synthesized and applied in PDT. Our results show that these multifunctional nanoparticles are very promising for applications in versatile imaging diagnosis and as a therapy tool in biomedical engineering.NSFC 21101131 21021061 20925103 20871100 Fok Ying Tung Education Foundation 121011 NSF of Fujian Province 2009J06005 Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities 2010121015 Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars of State Education Ministry NFFTBS J103041

Recovery of Iron, Chromium, and Nickel from Pickling Sludge Using Smelting Reduction

This paper reports the recoveries of iron, chromium, and nickel from pickling sludge using coal-based smelting reduction. The influences of slag basicity (CaO/SiO2, which is controlled by high phosphorus oolitic hematite iron ores), reduction temperature, reduction time, and the C/O mole ratio on the recoveries of Fe, Cr, and Ni are investigated systematically. The experimental results show that high recoveries of Fe (98.91%), Cr (98.46%), and Ni (99.44%) are produced from pickling sludge with optimized parameters for the smelting reduction process. The optimized parameters are a slag basicity of 1.5; a reduction temperature of 1550 °C, a reduction time of 90 min, and a C/O mole ratio of 2.0. These parameters can be used as technical support for the recycling of pickling sludge with pyrometallurgy

Structural and Thermoelectric Properties of Cu Substituted Type I Clathrates Ba8CuxSi~32−xGa~14

With an attempt to improve the thermoelectric properties of type I clathrates in the Ba-Ga-Si system, we introduce Cu into the framework of the crystal structure. Single crystals are prepared in Ga-flux and characterized by X-ray diffraction techniques and transport measurements for the structural and thermoelectric properties. Our composition analyses show that only a small amount of Cu is determined in the clathrates. The single crystal X-ray diffraction data refinements confirm that Ga atoms prefer the 6c and 24k sites and avoid the 16i sites in the crystal structure. The small amount of Cu affects the crystal structure by compressing the tetrakaidecahedral cage along the direction perpendicular to the six-atom-ring plane. This could be the reason for the high charge carrier concentration, and low electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient. We analyze the principal mechanism for our observation and conclude that the Cu substitution can adjust some subtle details of the structure, maintaining the Zintl rule in the type I clathrates

Promising galactose-decorated biodegradable poloxamer 188-PLGA diblock copolymer nanoparticles of resibufogenin for enhancing liver cancer therapy

Liver cancer is one of the major diseases affecting human health. Modified drug delivery systems through the asialoglycoprotein receptor, which is highly expressed on the surface of hepatocytes, have become a research focus for the treatment of liver cancer. Resibufogenin (RBG) is a popular traditional Chinese medicine and natural anti-cancer drug that was isolated from Chansu, but its cardiotoxicity and hydrophobicity have limited its clinical applications. Galactosyl-succinyl-poloxamer 188 and galactosyl-succinyl-poloxamer 188-polylactide-co-glycolide (Gal-SP188–PLGA) were synthesized using galactose, P188, and PLGA to achieve active liver-targeting properties. RBG-loaded Gal-SP188–PLGA nanoparticles (RGPPNs) and coumarin-6-loaded Gal-SP188–PLGA nanoparticles (CGPPNs) were prepared. The in vitro cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, and apoptosis of nanoparticles in HepG2 cells were analyzed. The in vivo therapeutic effects of nanoparticles were assessed in a hepatocarcinogenic mouse model. The results showed that Gal-SP188–PLGA was successfully synthesized. The cellular uptake assay demonstrated that CGPPNs had superior active liver-targeting properties. The ratio of apoptotic cells was increased in the RGPPN group. In comparison to the other groups, RGPPNs showed superior in vivo therapeutic effects and anticancer efficacy. Thus, the active liver-targeting RGPPNs, which can enhance the pharmacological effects and decrease the toxicity of RBG, are expected to become a promising and effective treatment for liver cancer